End of an Era

Hey all so I wasn’t at all expecting to have to write this post. So it will be rather brief, and while I’m not taking a break from writing, I am going to have to change my columns for a while, maybe permanently.

What’s Up?: So for those unaware Bato.to is shutting down permanently on the 18th of this month. It’s a huge loss to the Manga community at large, and while some of you might say “Michael they supported Pirates” That isn’t true. Any licensed series were not hosted on Batoto.

So Why Are Things Changing?: I used Batoto almost exclusively to find obscure series for my Manga Monday and Sensate Saturday columns. Losing easy access to such a large repository of content is going to seriously put a hamper on what I’ll be able to read for material to write about in those columns.  So things are going to have to change, maybe permanently.

What’s Changing?: Well obviously my Manga Monday and Sensate Saturday columns are going to be put on hold and replaced with something else. I’ve had a backup type of content in the wings in case something like this happened, although I wasn’t expecting it to occur because of Batoto shutting down. The Sensate Saturday series has a high chance of being permanently shelved in favor of that backup, and while I have tons of content to write about for that column that’s it. I do have a temporary solution for my Monday columns, however I have absolutely no confidence in that being a permanent solution due to the nature of what I’ll be writing about and my own personal disabilities and challenges. The worst case possibility that occurs is that I have to stop writing my Monday columns permanently after I run out of material for my temporary replacement of Manga Monday. Hopefully by the time I’ve run out of material the Manga translation scene will have calmed down enough. That however is an unknown and I can’t promise anything.

What Are You Going To Write About?: Well I’ll keep that under wraps for now, though I will say that Monday’s post is going to be fiery. That’s the sole hint you’ll be getting from me. If by some miracle someone manages to guess what I’m writing about and posts their guess in the comments I’ll be shocked. And yes this is a complete and shameless attempt to get people to post more comments on my posts.

That’s it, I hope you’ll all forgive me for having to do this, but circumstances have forced me to put plans in action that I was hoping I’d never have to do.

Manga Monday: Yuukoku no Moriarty by Takeuchi Ryousuke

This week for Manga Monday I’ve got a really interesting Quick Review for you all. It’s Yuukoku no Moriarty, or Moriarty the Patriot, by Takeuchi Ryousuke!

Plot Synopsis: The story of Sherlock Holmes, reimagined with Moriarty as the protagonist and exploring his motivation in becoming the greatest criminal Britain has ever seen….

Plot: This isn’t a happy story, it doesn’t reimagine Moriarty into some noble hero. However if you ever wondered why Moriarty did what he did, this gives a good guess as to the explanation. I won’t spoil anything further, but I’ll just say I was hooked by the end of the chapter, I might even see about getting my Aunt to read this, as she loves Sherlock Holmes.

Characters: William is our lead character, and the rest of the cast is good as well. I won’t spoil anything, though we don’t get introduced to Sherlock yet in this first chapter.

Art: The art is excellent, easily meeting Shueisha’s standards. Given that this is are published by Shueisha that should come as no shock.

Overall: Yuukoku no Moriarty is quite an interesting read, and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves Sherlock Holmes.

 

 

Manga Monday: Fuku wo Kiru Nara by Shimano Yae

It’s the last post of 2017, I’d like to think the next year is going to be good, but that seems unlikely with all the stuff that’s gone down in the last year. At least we’ll have stories to let us get away from reality, right?   I’ve got another Quick Review for this Manga Monday. It’s Fuku wo Kiru Nara by Shimano Yae!

Plot Synopsis: Yuusuke, an average office worker, meets with his friend at a reunion — only to realise that the fashion world has left him behind. Now, with the help of his sister Tamaki, Yuusuke steps into the world of trend and charisma…

Plot: This is a surprisingly decent series, or it might just be my fever raddled brain telling me that. Take these past two weeks of content with a grain of salt. Either way I enjoyed reading this, although I’ll probably give it another whirl when I’m not so sick that I can’t remember which day of the week it is.

Characters: Yuusuke is a pretty average college grad who is now working the daily grind, or as they call them in Japan a Salaryman. Tamaki on the other hand seems to be a pretty awesome female lead which I think she is? I can’t tell, and I’m not going to spend the brain power on determining that distinction over at the moment. Sorry you’re going to be getting some ramblings from me while I write with my cold going on. Either way they are interesting characters, and I prefer Tamaki over Yuusuke, but hopefully he gets it together in later chapters.

Art: The art is very good, easily reaching Shueisha levels of work.

Overall: A great read, although if you want action and adventure you’re going to want to skip this series.

For those who like: Slice of Life, Comedy, Fashion, Great Plot, Awesome Lead Characters, Excellent Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Manga Monday: Gunjou ni Siren by Momokuri Mikan

Merry Christmas everyone! This week for Manga Monday I’ve got another Quick Review. It’s Gunjou ni Siren by Momokuri Mikan!

Plot Synopsis: Two guys: cousins, both left-handed, both passionate about becoming their school team’s best pitcher. One of them has already lost the spot once – back in elementary school – and his cousin moved away not long after, seemingly clueless to the fact that he was leaving the guy who introduced him to baseball dispirited and defeated…

Plot: The plot is decent, and more than a bit melodramatic. I don’t mind the melodrama all that much, but it did feel a touch over the top, and I’ve got a tolerance for that sort of thing. I only read this first chapter, but I definitely enjoyed reading it quite a bit. Sadly it doesn’t have many translated chapters out there yet, and due to being sick still (I’m writing this in advance) I didn’t have the bandwidth or brain power needed to sort out the untranslated chapters.

Characters: Shuuji is our main character and he’s a pretty mopey guy. I honestly don’t like him. He’s incredibly bitter over something that is pretty minor. Sorry, but losing your spot in a grade school sports team isn’t all that important in the grand scheme of things. Sora on the other hand seems to either be incredibly good at masking his true feelings or is just clueless. Personally I’m thinking it’s clueless, but who knows.

Art: I’d make a comment about how it’s Shueisha level work, but after checking the publication information it turns out that they do publish it. So yea, guess it does.

Overall: A good read, with sadly very few chapters released in English.

For those who like: Drama, Sports, School Life, Angst, Great Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Manga Monday: Maou-jou de Oyasumi by Kumanomata Kagiji

This week for Manga Monday I’ve got another Quick Review. It’s Maou-jou de Oyasumi by Kumanomata Kagiji!

Plot Synopsis: The Demon King broke the truce by kidnapping the much loved princess. However, while the human world falls into despair and heroes gather to save her, the princess is actually well looked after and mostly just wants to sleep…

Plot: The plot is a huge twist on the “Damsel in Distress” stereotype and is quite funny. Honestly I had a great time reading this first chapter, and if I wasn’t trying to do some work ahead of the holidays I’d be reading every release I could of this. There isn’t much story, but it was such a refreshing take on the stereotype that I didn’t mind the lack of plot.

Characters: The Princess is a riot, and the fact that she’s just a lazy slob is awesome. There isn’t a bunch of characters we get introduced to, but the entire cast we see is quite funny and good.

Art: The art isn’t Shueisha level, but it’s darn close.

Overall: A great read, definitely worth reading for those who want a good laugh or two.

For those who like: Fantasy, Comedy, Twisting Stereotypes Around, Excellent Lead Character, Great Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.